1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing structure around an intercooler arranged in an engine room of an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional automobile having an engine cooperated with a turbo charger, as shown in FIG. 1, an intercooler 20 interposed in an air intake duct is arranged close to an engine hood 21, and the engine hood 21 is formed with an air inlet 22 and an air scoop 23 for covering the air inlet 22 right above the intercooler 20 in order to positively introduce the outside air to the intercooler 20 in an engine room. The engine hood 21 is also provided with an annular sealing member 24, which is made of a resilient material such as rubber, on the internal surface around the air inlet 22. The annular sealing member 24 resiliently and tightly contacts an upper peripheral surface of the intercooler 20 to seal the peripheral portion of the air inlet 22 and the upper peripheral surface of the intercooler 20 when the engine hood 21 is closed, and hence the outside air introduced into the engine room through the air inlet 22 is entirely fed to the intercooler 20 by virtue of the annular sealing member 24, resulting in a performance of a heat exchange with a good efficiency in the intercooler 20. A similar embodiment to this sealing structure around the intercooler is disclosed in the British Patent Publication No. 1,067,147.
However, in this case, a space for mounting the sealing member 24 between the engine hood 21 and the intercooler 20 is required, and accordingly the height of the engine hood 21 above the ground is necessarily raised. This restricts a constructive possibility of an automobile designing, and may often bring about poor visibility to a driver and low aerodynamic characteristics.